Bad Company
by DancingPetal
Summary: KibaSaku. AU. "Just who the hell are you?" - He closed his eyes and smirked. "Bad company. Better get away from me, dollface, or you'll ruin your spotless reputation."
1. Campus

Disclaimer: The Naruto series belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. He's a god.

A/N: Right. I'am _aware_ that I said last time that me writing Kiba/Saku would be a one-time thing. But as it usually happens when you say stuff like that, it doesn't work out. And consequently, a most persistent plotbunny attacked me while I was cleaning the house. This time, the result won't be a one-shot either - probably **around three chapters**, I guess. The support I got for my other Kiba/Saku fic was really more than I expected, especially concerning the Favs. I also got some alerts, but people, I won't continue that one because it's a one-shot and it's supposed to be that way. So to make it up to you, you get this one. There's no mature content in here but the pairing's still the same. So read it, dammit. ;-)

(Another side-note - English is not my first language, I'm German. So it's entirely possible that there are expressions that usually wouldn't be used by a native speaker in this or that situation. I'm always glad if people point it out since it helps me work on my feeling for the English language as someone did in my last one-shot. If you don't want to do that, that's okay, too. In that case, please ignore awkward phrases.)

**Note**: _Sensei_ does not only refer to teachers, but is also an expression used for doctors.

* * *

**Bad Company**

**One**

… paper's due next wednesday, don't forget. Thank you for your attention and have a good day."

Immediately, the noise level in the auditorium rose as everyone started chatting. Sakura did not join in the knocking on the desks to thank for a good lecture, but hastily crammed her writing utensils into her bag. She smiled fleetingly at someone who greeted her, then jumped up and hurried to the exit.

"Ah, Sakura-san, a word please." When her anatomy lecturer called out to her, she stopped and cursed silently before turning around with a questionning look. The professor smiled at her. "I heard that you want to apply for a scholarship."

"Yes, that's right," she answered, stepping to the side to not block the door and get pushed around by the masses of students streaming into the halls.

"If you need another commendatory letter then I'd gladly write it. It would be a shame if you had to quit medical school because of money issues."

Sakura smiled a bit nervously and decided not to tell him that she did not want a scholarship because of money problems, but because her parents thought it would raise her chances to get a good job after university if she was accepted by a pretigious scholarship programm. So she nodded and bowed her head in a grateful movement. "Thank you very much, sensei. I would appreciate that a lot."

She was about to politely end the conversation and hurry out of the auditorium when the professor spoke up again. "I also heard that you have been accepted as the apprentice to our chief physician. That is very impressive. It's not even your last year yet, Sakura-san."

"Thank you, sensei. I was very lucky to get accepted." She bowed her head again and discreetly threw a look at her wristwatch. She really needed to get out of here fast. The auditorium was already empty except for her, the professor and two other student who were waiting for a chance to speak with their lecturer.

"I wish you good luck. You are one of our most promising students."

Sakura kept her head down for a moment longer and thanked him again, then she straightened up, but kept her eyes trained on the floor. "I am very sorry, but I have to go now or I will be late for my lesson with Tsunade-shishou."

"Oh, of course." He sounded a bit uncomfortable. "See you next week, Sakura-san."

"Have a nice day, sensei," she murmured, then bowed her head and left the room in a normal walking speed before she turned around the corner and broke into a run. Another look at her wrist confirmed her thoughts – she was going to be late if she didn't jog all the way to the hospital. Sighing, she skidded around another corner and rushed out one of the side entrances. And stopped immeadiately, stumbling slightly.

Rain was pouring down like an iron-gray curtain. Two steps further, out from under the small roof, and she would have been soaked to the bone within three seconds. Sakura dropped her bag and cursed loudly.

"Nice language, Pinky."

She whirled around and glared at the guy leaning against the wall next to the door. He had messy brown hair and rough features with an angular jaw and straight eyebrows. One of his hands was buried in the pocket of his faded jeans, the other lifted a glowing cigarette to his lips. He inhaled the smoke with closed eyes, not even acknowledging her any further, and blew it out in a long stream. He looked normal – a guy around her age in a black leather jacket – but something about him with his casual stance and the red tattoo on his cheek seemed dangerous.

After realizing that her thoughts sounded like a bad romance novel, she scowled and took a step forward. "How very original. Never heard that before, Mister Death Wish."

She could see the corners of his mouth curl into a smirk, but his eyes were still closed. "I'm not suicidal. It's called addiction." Then he turned his head slightly in her direction and opened his eyes. They were brown and piercing and mocking. "How should I call you then? Candy Cotton? Spitfire?_Sensei_?"

He was making fun of her and she didn't like it one bit. Sakura crossed her arms across her chest. "It's Sakura, jerk. How do you know I'm studying to be a doctor?" she demanded.

"First thing you noticed was this." He waved his hand with the cigarette. "And moreover you just came out of the building where the anatomy course finished ten minutes ago. Not so hard to figure out, _Sa-ku-ra_."

The way he said her name sounded like an insult. Slowly but surely, she was losing her temper with this guy. She opened her mouth to retort, then thought better and took a deep breath before asking, "Just who the hell _are_ you?"

The man closed his eyes and smirked again. "Bad company. Better get away from me, dollface, or you'll ruin your spotless reputation."

"Well, obviously I can't get away from you without getting soaked, can I? So I'm very sorry to impose on you further." Sakura snorted and turned away from him, picking up her bag and taking another look at her wristwatch. Great. She would not only be late, but also arrive soaked. This was _just_ her day.

The rain was still pouring relentlessly, but it looked like she had no choice. She would just have to run. Sometimes she really hated herself for refusing her parent's offer to buy her a car. She was just too damn proud sometimes.

There was movement from the guy's corner and when she turned around, he had stepped out his cigarette. He was looking at her, hands stuffed in his pockets and face blank except for the ever-mocking eyes. "Want a ride?"

"What?" She stared at him.

He pulled out a set of keys and dangled them in front of him. "Do you want a ride? Where do you have to go?"

Sakura was at a loss for words and blinked. "The hospital. Um – not to be rude, but… why are you doing this?"

There it was again, his insufferable smirk. She noticed how one corner of his mouth lifted higher than the other and how the edges of his canines showed. "Same thing as giving food to a stray dog, pumpkin." With that, he casually sauntered out into the rain.

"You're _pitying_ me now?" she seethed and stomped after him, ignoring the way her short pink hair was dripping wet almost immediately. "I should just punch your lights out, you brain-dead idiot!"

"But who would give you a ride then?" he asked unfazed and threw her an amused look over his shoulder. "You really are a spitfire, woman." He halted in front of a motorbike, his own hair plastered against his forehead and temples, droplets of water running down his face and she tried not to notice how good it looked on him.

She stopped next to him, glaring at him with a bit of incredulity. "First of all – why can't you use my name like everyone else? Do you have problems with remembering words with more than two syllables? And secondly-" She stared down at the bike. "What the _hell_ is this?"

"My bike." He threw her a spare helmet before pulling his one over his head. "You scared, cupcake?"

He smirked boldly at her when she angrily yanked the helmet over her hair. "You wish, moron." When he mounted the motorcycle without saying anything else, she scowled. "You didn't answer my question."

His wink was just as playful as everything else he did. "Oh, yes, I really can't remember anything but monosyllabic words, I'm terribly sorry. I'm just too stupid. Moreover" (she didn't like the glint in his eyes) "a delicate name like that doesn't fit a hellcat like yourself. Now get on."

He turned on the engine and Sakura was left to climb on the bike behind him, seething silently. She refused to touch him, but she had never ridden on a motorcycle before so when he set the machine into motion, she instinctively slung her arms around his waist.

_What am I doing?_, she asked herself incredulously. Lashing out at complete strangers, behaving like a complete bitch (here she groaned lowly because she realized that this guy wasn't wrong when calling her a spitfire) and riding on moterbikes in the rain with men who looked like the bad boys every mother warned her daughters of – her parents would faint of they ever heard of it, her friends would be shocked and it could be a serious threat to her privileged position as the apprentice of the famous head of the hospital Tsunade, her shishou.

But then he accelerated and she could feel the rain lashing against their sides and the powerful vibrations of the engine beneath their legs and the smooth, cool leather of his jacket and the hard torso underneath – and simply enjoyed it. For a while, she shoved all worries about her reputation and future aside and just enjoyed the ride.

Then he stopped in front of the hospital and Sakura climbed off almost regrettably. "Thank you," she said, handing him the helmet.

He took off the one he was wearing. "Inuzuka Kiba."

"What?" Confusedly, she frowned at him.

"That's my name, dollface. You asked earlier."

"And you're telling me _now_?" She could only stare at him incredulously. This guy was so exasperating!

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Didn't you want to know, Sa-ku-ra?"

"That's not the point!" she said angrily. "You're just so insufferable, Inuzuka!"

"See," he replied, "aren't you glad that you can finally use my name in your insults, candy cotton?"

"Don't call me that!"

The corner's of Kiba's mouth lifted into his lopsided grin. "Well, Sa-ku-ra, since you never told me your last name, what else can I do?"

"Fine. Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you," she snapped. "Now leave before I break your nose."

He pulled on his helmet again, but left the visor open. His eyes were glinting mockingly when he let the engine roar. "I think you misunderstood the job description. You're supposed to _heal_ people, not beat them to a pulp. See ya, sensei."

Before she could make her threat come true, he had lifted two fingers in greeting and sped off, leaving her standing in the rain, gaping after him.

When she was reading a medical text later in her shishou's office, she decided that he had been saying the truth about himself. He really was bad company and that wasn't something she could tolerate or accept right now. Thinking of her parents, she sighed and amended, _more like ever._ As fun as the bike ride had been, Inuzuka Kiba was bad for her so she had to stay away from him.

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A/N: End of part one. Still not sure if Kiba came out alright, so I'd like to hear a few opinions... 


	2. Library

A/N: Okay, we're up to four chapters now. This is a short one, but the next one will be longer.

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**Two**

"Yo."

Sakura jumped violently and in the process knocked her knee against one of the library table's cross bracings. Pain shot through her leg, making the glare she directed at the person who had spoken up directly next to her ear especially vicious. "What a pleasure to see you here," she ground out between clenched teeth and rubbed her aching knee.

Kiba plopped down gracefully into the chair across from her, dropping a pair of books on the table.

She eyes him disdainfully. "What do you want?"

"Cheer up, sunshine, or you'll get wrinkles." He tilted his chair back till it balanced on two legs and grinned boldly at her.

"Seriously, I'm trying to study here," she said, pointing to the large medical textbooks scattered around her on the table. "So get lost, jerk."

"You lost a bit of your venom," he observed. "All those complicated medical expressions probably slowed down the speed of your thoughts."

Sakura glared at him, happy that her practical ponytail kept her hair from obscuring her eyes and allowed her look to hit at full force. Unfortunately, Kiba was unfazed and returned her stare with a challenging grin. She grit her teeth. "Thanks to my studies, I will be able to properly name every bone in your body that I'll break if you don't leave within ten seconds."

He did't budge. "Did I ever mention that I love fiery women?"

A well aimed kick sent his chair tumbling, but somehow he managed to stay on his feet, grab the lying chair and swing it around so that he could sit down again, arms resting on the backrest. "That was mean, princess. I could've been hurt you know."

"Which was actually the point of it," she answered without looking at him and tried to concentrate on the text in front of her.

"Didn't I tell you last time that your job is to heal people, not hurt them?"

"You did," Sakura replied and jotted down something that didn't even make sense while writing it. "I just thought that injuring you would be legitimate as furthering the cause of humanity and the security of our society."

She could practically feel his grin tickling her skin. "Oh, and you decided to selflessly sacrifice your morals for everyone's good? Impressive, Joan."

Exasperatedly, she threw down her pencil and glared at him. "Would you stop it with the nicknames?"

Kiba tilted his head innocently. "Why? They serve their purpose very well, Sa-ku-ra."

"What purpose?!" she said angrily and put as much force behind her words as possible because she wasn't able to yell in the library.

"Triggering your temper," he replied, as if it was a completely reasonable explanation. "I told you before, I love fiery women."

"Well, too bad, Romeo," Sakura countered quietly, but fiercely. "I'm good girl. I keep my head down and my thoughts to myself, I'm polite to my elders and if I didn't do that, I'd lose my position as Tsunade-shishou's apprentice and any chance for a scholarship I ever had. So stop provoking me, Inuzuka, and leave me alone."

He looked at her quietly, and there was something calculating in his piercing eyes. Suddenly, he asked, "Do you like dogs?" and his grin returned at full force.

Taken aback by the out-of-the-blue question, she answered confusedly, "Uh, yeah. Um… why?"

"You seemed more like a cat-type to me." Kiba shrugged absent-mindedly. "Well, I'll leave you to your studies now, good girl." He stood and scooped up his books, patting her head mockingly as he passed by her. "See ya, sensei."

"Hey!" Sakura exclaimed indignantly and turned around in her chair, but he only lifted his hand without looking back. Huffing, she blow a few strands of her bangs out of her forehead. "Jerk."

* * *

A/N: I usually don't beg for it, but a comment would be so lovely! 


	3. Park

A/N: I'm back with the third chapter. Which will be the second to last chapter, by the way. This fic will be short, but hopefully sweet. Thank you so much for all of your support so far! It keeps me going. Otherwise I probably never would've finished this.

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**Three**

It was Sunday, a week and a half after her last encounter with the Jerk, and it was a clear but windy autumn day. Sakura was walking home after lunch at her parents' house and decided to take the route through the park where the trees' leaves had turned into shades of yellow and crimson, a very pretty sight. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her red wool coat and stopped for a moment to take in her beautiful surroundings.

The air was clear and crisp, the sunlight was reflecting off the little lake not too far away and only few people were outside at this time of day so that the park was peaceful and quiet.

Well, at least till there was a shout of "Watch out!" and somehing big crashed into her, sending her tumbling down – thankfully, she landed in a half-sitting position on the bench that conveniently stood behind her. A big dog put his paws on her knees and craned its neck to sniff around her face.

Suddenly, someone yanked it back from her, putting a restraining hand on the big, white head. "Sorry, couldn't hold him back. You alright, buttercup?"

Sakura glared. "Oh, it's you."

Kiba raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, nice to see you again, too. Good to see you're in a great mood."

"I was, before your monster dog almost smothered me." She nonetheless accepted his hand when he held it out to pull her up. Said dog whined pathetically and Sakura bent a bit to pat his head in a soothing manner. "Don't worry, buddy, I only blame that moronic master of yours."

"Well, he's got good taste at least," the owner commented carelessly and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "His name's Akamaru."

"Nice to meet you, Akamaru." She determinedly ignored him and shook his dog's paw. Even though the dog was above avarage in size, he was still cute in a way with his wagging tail, snowy white fur and almost hidden eyes. Sakura straightened up again and looked at Kiba with a scowl. "So, did you start stalking me now?"

The smirk she hadn't seen in a while resurfaced. "You wish, huh, princess?"

"Oh yes," she replied, mirroring his smirk, "because then I'd have a reason to report you. Good riddance, don't you think?"

She turned around and started walking, but a second later he was in pace next to her, his oversized dog jumping around them happily, stopping to sniff at lamp posts and trees, racing over the meadow next to the path or chasing after small animals. "He loves walks," Kiba said, matching his longer strides with hers before fishing out a packet of cigarettes and lighting one.

"Do you have to do that?" she snapped, glaring at him from the corner of her eye.

"I told you before," he answered, breathing out a cloud of smoke, "I'm addicted."

"Then find some other addiction to replace it with. There are healthier options."

He laughed, a low and slightly hoarse sound that made her shiver. "You as aspiring doctor tell me that there are healthy addictions, sparkles?"

Deciding to ignore him, Sakura instead settled for watching Akamaru run around.

"What were you doing at the hospital the other day?"

She contemplated a sarcastic reply, but when she threw a look at his profile it showed only honest interest and no teasing or mocking tilt of his mouth, so she thought better of it. "I'm the apprentice to one of the doctors."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that he looked at her surprisedly. "But you're not yet in your last year of university, are you?"

"No." She shook her head. "Shishou saw me in one of or practical lessons at university and complemented me afterwards. I asked her if she would take an apprentice – what I meant was, if there was a chance to become her apprentice after I had finished university, but she just accepted me then and there and since then I've been learning from her."

He whistled lowly. "Crongratulations, sugar bun. Seems like you're a lucky one."

"Didn't I tell you to cut it out with the nicknames?" she growled at him.

Kiba grinned at her. "What, you don't like being called that? Most girls melt as soon as a guy calls them 'gorgeous'."

"Firstly, I'm sure that those guys don't use them in the pejorative way you do and secondly, you've never called me 'gorgeous', so shut up."

"I'll let you know that none of those words were ever meant condescendingly, Sa-ku-ra."

"I don't believe you," she said curtly.

"Come on, gorgeous, have a little faith in the potential good side of humanity, okay?"

Sakura gave him a blank look. "Somehow I don't have the feeling I'll melt any second because you called me that."

His head tilted questioningly and he flicked away the remains of his cigarette. "Hmm. Either you're as cold as ice or I'm losing my touch."

That had her gasping indignantly. "What are you implying, you jerk?! I'm _not_ frigid! How dare-"

She was cut off by a warm hand covering her mouth. Kiba leaned forward until his hot breath fanned her earshell and her heart started thumping irratically. She could smell the smoke in his hair. "Don't worry, Sa-ku-ra," he said lowly and her knees started trembling alarmingly at the way her name sounded from his lips, "I'll never think you're frigid."

Then he pulled away and left her blushing and feeling a bit light-headed while he whistled for his dog. "Don't ever do that again!" she exclaimed, rudely pointing her finger at him. "Stay away from me! You said yourself that you're bad company and that I shouldn't get involved with you and now you're the one stalking me!"

He looked over his shoulder from where he was squatting before his dog, ruffling the fur behind its ears. There was no mocking glint in his eyes this time and one of his eyebrows was raised coolly. "You don't seem to realize that I'm actually good for you, Sherlock."

"Good for me?" Sakura replied with a scoff, squishing the feeling of ice-cold guilt. "On the contrary. You're threatening everything I built up so far." She stared into his sharp eyes defiantly, telling herself over and over that socializing with him would ruin her reputation that she had to retain if she wanted to keep her good relations with the professors and her position as Tsunade's apprentice. He distracted her when she found herself wondering when he would pop up next or thinking of insults she could use, and kept her from studying.

Kiba stood up and turned to face her, his features unusually serious when he put his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "You know, Sakura, maybe you should stop trying to live up to everyone's expectations and start living your own life."

Shocked, she stared at him open-mouthed while he turned and walked away with his dog in tow, lifting the usual two fingers in greeting. She tried to feel angry at him, but the feeling of guilt was so strong that she simply couldn't do it. She stood there for minutes, staring at the place where he had been crouching next to his dog and his words replaying over and over in her mind. Her inner eye conjured up the image of his unusually cool face and her stomach clenched.

Numbly, she started to walk into the direction of her small apartment, not even registering her surroundings. Her mind had told her clearly that she was right, that she needed to stay away from him if she wanted to reach her dreams. He couldn't even mean that much to her after three meetings, could he? But her heart hurt in a way that she didn't dare analyse.

When she reached her apartment, she sat on the couch without even taking off her coat and stared at the wall blankly.

* * *

A/N: Drama. Don't worry, this isn't the end, fortunately. 


	4. Hospital

A/N: Welcome to the last chapter of this story. Yes, it's short, and yes, it's supposed to be like this. Unfortunately (and there's no sarcasm here), I really don't have the time for anything longer right now. Maybe one day, who knows.

* * *

**Four**

The encounter in the park was the end of it all. Sakura didn't run into the Jerk in the university's library, or outside the anatomy class building or anywhere else for that matter. And that was good. Or so she told herself.

The truth was that she still watched out for any sign of unruly brown hair or a black leather jacket. And on top of that, she found herself scoffing over her own demure-good-girl act that she put on in front of her professors, her shishou, her parents and even her friends. It seemed that Kiba's words hat amplified the voice of the outgoing, emotional persona that she had confined to the back of her head years ago.

He was right, she had realized. She was putting on an act to meet everyone's expectations. They would flip if she acted the way around everyone the way she had acted around him – bantering, bitching, insulting, carefree. But she wasn't about to change anything about that. If her act opened her the door to becoming a doctor, then she'd determinedly keep it up.

Sakura sighed as she strode through the hospital's corridors on her way from the cafeteria to the staff room. The coffee in her hand eminated a delicious smell that she could taste in her mouth from the sips she had already taken.

"Yo, angel face."

She nearly spilled coffee all over herself and the floor. Sure enough, there he was, leaning against the white wall that made him look all the more sinister and dangerous with his worn jeans and leather jacket. The smirk was back on his face, quirking the end of his tattoos. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Kiba pushed himself off of the wall and approached her, hands buried in his pockets as usual and she tried to ignore the way her heart jumped or the relief at the mocking glint in his eyes. "I found I've given you enough time to think and change your life, so here I am, princess. Are you free for dinner tomorrow night?"

"_What_?" She gaped at him, coffee forgotten in her hand. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He stopped directly in front of her, definitely invading her personal space. "Well, I'd like to go out with you, cupcake, so I'm asking you out for dinner."

A nurse hurrying past gave them a strange look. It must have been a weird picture for her – calm, nerdy, sweet, brilliant, demure Sakura standing entirely too close next to a wild, rugged, dangerous looking guy in a leather jacket. Without thinking, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the empty staff room down the corridor. She slammed her cup down on one of the tables and positioned herself in front of him angrily. "What the hell do you want, moron?"

"Dinner with you tomorrow night."

"I never said I wanted to go out with you," she exclaimed exasperatedly. "I don't like you!"

His smirk grew more devious. "You don't have to like me, pumpkin, that just makes it more interesting."

"I'm not even attracted to you!"

"That so?" he asked, quirking his brow at her. One step and he was invading her personal bubble again, standing so close that she could feel the body heat radiating from him. His warm breath was fanning over her cheek and lips and one of his hands slid up her arm so lightly that it left goosebumps on her skin. When it reached her neck and started playing with the short, soft hairs at the base of her head, she felt her breath hitch and her knees turn weak.

"Stop that," Sakura protested weakly. "That's cheating."

He smirked at the way her eyelids had lowered a bit. "You should have known that I'm not someone who plays by the rules, sensei."

"You're a jerk," she said but her voice lacked venom.

He made a non-compromising humming sound and then bent his head to kiss her. His mouth moved lazily, carefree, tongue sweeping over her bottom lip before retracting. His hand stayed exactly where it was, stroking the sensitive skin right under her hair. He touched her nowhere else and kept the kiss almost chaste, but it was driving her mad.

Almost whimpering, she lifted on her toe-tips and opened her mouth. Immediately, his tongue stroked over hers and he angled her head with his hand to deepen the kiss. Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears, the warmth of his body was heating up her skin and she _needed_ his hands. But he wasn't touching her except for the hand in her neck and his mouth slanting over hers and his tongue setting her on fire – but she needed his hands!

She fisted her hands into his jacket, soft leather crunching under her grip, and pulled herself closer to his deliciously warm body. As if on cue, the hand that had hitherto hung at his side now pressed on the small of her back, pushing her closer until she was pressed up against him. She moaned into his mouth when his hand dipped under her shirt and his warm, calloused fingers brushed over her skin.

When there was a loud clatter, Sakura jumped violently and pulled away. In the doorway stood her shishou's other apprentice, Shizune, who was staring at them with wide brown eyes, her mouth hanging open.

"Hi," Kiba said nonchalantly, the fingers of his right hand still distractingly warm on her back.

"S-sorry, I… didn't know-" Shizune stammered, apparently caught between embarrasment and surprise. "I'll leave you alone."

"No, no," Sakura said hurriedly, taking a step forward. "He was just about to leave, anyway."

He gave her a look of mild surprise. "I was?"

The pink haired girl shot him a murderous look. "Yes, you _were_, jerk."

"But you still haven't agreed to go out for dinner with me tomorrow night."

"And I won't!" she retorted angrily, almost yelling. "I told you, I don't even like you!"

"And I told you that I don't care." He was grinning shamelessly at her and she was about reply when a new voice floated through the room.

"I think I see now what took you so long, Shizune." The blonde chief physician Tsuande was standing behind the dark haired woman in the doorframe, watching the scene amusedly with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Kiba grinned at the doctor, all charms. "Sorry to keep Sakura away from work, but there was something we had to clarify."

"We didn't _clarify_ anything," she seethed, her shishou's presence forgotten. "You're so insufferable, Inuzuka!"

"Could I have a word with my apprentice for a minute?" Tsunade asked, stepping past Shizune into the room. "You will get her right back in a moment."

Sakura groaned. "Great. Now you probable got me fired," she murmured, shaking her head.

He ignored her and flashed another grin at her shishou as he walked out of the room. Shizune quietly pulled the door shut and left the two women alone. Sakura didn't meet her mentor's eyes, but instead chose to examine the worn linoleum floor.

Tsuande sat on one of the tables' edge, crossing her feet relaxedly and looking calmly at her young apprentice. "Sakura." As the girl cringed, she smiled. "You're probably wondering why I asked for a minute to talk to you alone."

The pink haired girl raised a shoulder, but didn't look up.

"I accepted you as my apprentice because you have potential, a lot of it. You are very determined about becoming a doctor and that's important because it makes you give your all. When I first saw you in your practical lesson, you stood out because you were so passionate about what you were doing and that's what I'm looking for in my apprentices." She shifted on the table without taking her eyes off of the girl. "Those last few weeks you were working with me, though, you were submissive."

At this, Sakura finally lifted her head with wide eyes. She seemed about to say something, but then thought better of it and her shoulders slumped slightly.

Tsunade smiled. "Yet again." The blonde looked up at the ceiling. "I thought about kicking you out. I don't need apprentices who don't know how to think on their own. They would be better off as nurses, but not as doctors. But after what I saw in here today…" She paused for a moment, then looked back at her apprentice. "I have hope."

"Shishou…" Sakura's tone was surprised, nearly shocked.

"This boy out there – he's good for you." When the girl gaped at her, Tsunade pursed her lips to hide her smile. "I can see that you're attracted to him and I can also see that he brings out your passionate side that you hid for far too long. Your temperamental side is what distinguishes you from other young, aspiring docotors, it shows that you care about people and about your job. That's what important. Not your reputation with the professors."

Sakura seemed to be shocked speechless. She was gaping at her mentor with an open mouth, frozen to the spot while the blonde woman smiled at her. She didn't even move when the chief physician stood up and exited the room, calling for Shizune to follow her. Only when Kiba walked hastily into the room – a worried look on his face, quite contrary to the nonchalant grin he had been wearing before –, grabbed her arms and bent his head to be on face-level with her did she wake from her stupor.

"She didn't kick you out, right?" he asked with concern.

She shook her head, still trying to process everything that had just been said to her. "No… No, she didn't."

When he pulled her into a relieved, bone-crushing hug, she fully came to her senses and buried her nose in his leather jacket that smelled faintly of smoke. "Yes," she murmured into his shoulder.

"Yes what?" he demanded loudly, pulling away roughly and glaring at her for the first time since she met him. "Don't tell me you were joking when you said she didn't kick you out!"

Sakura laughed, leaning her forehead against his collarbone. "Of course not, stupid. I meant, yes, I'll go out with you tomorrow night."

He sighed, grumbling, but wrapped his arms around her again nonetheless. "Don't scare me like that again."

"I didn't think you would be scared of anything," she teased, relishing in the warmth that seeped through his clothes.

Kiba's hand settled under her shirt on the small of her back once again. "You really think I'm stupid enough to answer to that?"

Sighing, she pulled away from him regrettably. "Not really. Listen, I've got to get back to work now. You distracted me long enough."

"Alright. I'll pick you up after your shift ends." He was grinning again.

Sakura's brows knit together in confusion. "How do you know when that is?"

"Asked Shizune," he replied.

"Figures." She emptied the cold coffee in her mug into the sink and deposited the used item in the dishwasher. They stepped out into the hallway together and she didn't care in the slightest when another nurse gave her a strange look as she swept past them after they had just exchanged their goodbye kiss. She not only didn't care but was also grinning devilishly at the thought.

After she had taken about five steps in the direction of her shishou's office, Kiba called out to her. She turned around with an inquiringly raised eyebrow. He was smirking shamelessly at her. "When do I get to meet your parents?"

She turned around and flipped him off.

* * *

A/N: In case it turned out you like this pairing, you might want to have a look at my other KibaSaku fic. Yes, I'm shamelessly advertising now. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for reviews. 


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